The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-05-18
CHINESE ART.
The Motives That Give it Such
Odd characteristics.

OQ0 OIldI dCL0TISClCSs
A short time ago the British Museum
acquired a comprehensive collection O
Japanese and Chinese pictures, made b,
Mr. William Anderson, for some year
medical officer to the British legation il
Toxic.
Amongst the motives of the artists O.
China and Japan, mythical zoology hell
a very important place, says Mr.. Ander
son. The Chinese have developed myth
ical zoology to greater extent thar
any other nation. "Their literature tenn
with strange conceits, some of which ap
pear to be transcripts of local folklore
Others appertain to Buddhism or Taoisti,
legends, and others are accepted as sober
facts Of natural history" These hay,
almost all been adopted and improved IL
treatment by the Japanese.
Among the myths that afford favoritt
subjects to the native artists are giants
dwarfs, perforated men, who are con
veyed about by coolies by means of poles
put through holes which conveniently
exist in their bodies for this purpose
stomachless men, who, according to
popular belief, "dare. not laugh for they
have no sides to hold !" men with enor.
mously long legs, and those with SINH.
larly long arms; men with tails, who
carefully dig holes where they sit in
order to provide receptacle for the ap-
pendage; and many other extraordinary
beings, all of which are truthfully de-
scribed, from Chinese works of authority
and repute, in the great Japanese ency-
clop@dia Wa-Kan- Sap.-iSai dzu-ge.
Then there are beings who combine
with human elements parts naturally
appertaining to the lower animals-such
are feathered men; those with human
faces, but the wings and beak of a bird :
mermen, who have human heads and
arms attached to the body of fish and
learn the secrets Of the deep from the
murmuring hollow of the Conchifer To
this section also belongs the vampire
bride, who lures men to her deadly en-
braces till she has drained away their
life-blo
The tiger is classed In Chinese mythol-
ogy as one of the supernatural animals.
the king of beasts, and the representative
of the masculine or active principle of
Nature. 1t attains the age of a thousand
years, and after passing the half of this
term its hair becomes white 1t is some
times seen in association with the dragon
apparently as the emblem of the
power of faith. 1t is also regarded as
the type of wisdom. The fox,
again, is the demon of mischief,
with the power of changing his shape
at will, but ever with some evil design on
the comfort of mankind. When he
reaches the age of fifty, Mr.. Anderson
tells us, he Is able to accomplish at will
his most favorite and baneful metamor-
phosis into the resemblance of woman
kind; at q hundred he can take the shape
either OF young and beautiful girl, or
~ yard strong u All TBS r QoYers Of
magic; and when he reaches the term of
a thousand years he becomes Celestial
Fox, characterized by a golden color
and nine tails, and may be admitted
to Heaven. But 1t appears he does not
always avail himself of this privilege, for
the possession of the extra tails only
gives him an augmented cunning capac-
ity for wickedness. The tortoise also
attains marvellous longevity, and is var
iously represented rs the embodiment
of a star In Ursa Major, and as q
descendant of the first dragon. In
HiHdoo mythology the tortoise sup
ports the elephant, which supports
the world In Japanese art II is
represented as bearing on its back the
mountain abode of the immortals. The
horse is also associated with longevity,
and 1t Is still popular belief that the
female is delivered of its progeny through
the mouth. The crane is one of the COM
monest figures in Japanese art; in
Chinese mythical zoology there are four
varieties, distinguished by their colors;
they all live to fabulous age, and after
completing 600 years are superior to the
necessity of other sustenance than water.
Other favorite subjects of oriental ar
lists are serpents 500 feet long, which de-
your elephants; nine-tailed foxes; the
four-eared monkey which heralds the del
uge the fish with ten bodies and one
head; the dragon, which, according to
the Japanese encyclopedia already men
toned, has the head Of a camel, the horns
of deer, the eyes of demon, the ears
of an OK, the body of serpent, the scales
of carp, and the claws of an eagle.
1t Is the most familiar object in the
art of China and Japan. II is treated by
writers of the last century as really ex-
listing. 1t becomes at will, according to
a Chinese author of the seventh century
b. c., reduced to the size of silkworm,
or swollen till II fills the space of Heaven
and earth. The kiln or kirin, 1.-THE noblest
form of the animal creation, and an en-
blem of perfect good" also belongs
to this class of composite monsters. 1t
has the body of deer, the tail of
an OK, and single horn, so
that it resembles the unicorn. The
phoenix Is another animal of this kind,
with the head of a pheasant, the beak of
a swallow, the neck of tortoise and the
outward resemblance of dragon. II Is
regarded as an omen of good, and heralds
the advent of beneficent reign. ''In
works of art II Is a nondescript bird of
gorgeous plumage, intermediate between
that of the peacock and bird of paradise,
and bears fiame-like appendages where
the neck joins the body"
To the mythical animals already men
toned, which are common to China and
Japan, the Japanese have added some of
their own invention. Such are serpents,
giant centipedes, monster devil-fishes,
earth spiders, probably representing the
trogodytes of old Japan; the raccoon-
faced dog, which possesses in minor
degree the evil powers and tendencies of
the fox; the wolf-like animal which pro-
duces thunder; the "whirling neck" or
being which has the power of so elon-
eating the neck that the head appears In
places remote from the body; the man
deyouring kappa, which frequents rivers